Frost's no-hitter completes SAC debut series sweep

Box Score MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Sophomore Jonathan Frost threw the first nine-inning no-hitter for Wayland Baptist in 13 years as the Pioneers completed a Sooner Athletic Conference-opening series sweep on Saturday afternoon with an 8-1 victory over Bacone.
 
"It was a great weekend," said WBU coach Brad Bass, whose team improved to 20-4 and 3-0 in the SAC.
 
Frost, a native of Alpine, Texas, who is in his first year at Wayland after transferring from Tompkins Cortland Community College in New York, struck out three and walked two. The Warriors scored their only run in the seventh inning on a hit-batsman, wild pitch, walk, and two-out ground-out.
 
"He threw very well," Bass said. "He was in command of his pitches (fastball, curve and change-up) all day long."
 
Bass said the Warriors (2-14, 0-3) had only two reasonably hard-hit balls all day – one to Alex Mumm in right field and another to Austin Davis in center.
 
"I hate to say it was easy, but he really cruised pretty much the whole day," the coach said. "There really weren't any hard plays. The toughest one may have been a slow roller (to second baseman Will Bass) in the seventh" that advanced runners to second and third and helped Bacone avoid the shutout.
 
Frost made his first start at Wayland as an emergency fill-in last Friday against Houston-Victoria. The Pioneers found themselves out of regular rotation again this weekend when Mason Taylor, a molecular biology major who was making an academic presentation this weekend, couldn't make the trip.
 
Frost (3-0) again proved more than capable.
 
"I think he rose to the occasion, to say the least," Bass said.
 
So did Friday starters Jordie Henry and Taylor Bridges, both of whom went the distance in seven-inning game.
 
"All three of those guys showed they have a little grit," Bass said. "Nothing bothered them."
 
It's just the sixth no-hitter in the 25-year history of Wayland baseball. The last was a seven-inning gem by Tom Bailey in a 4-0 win over Avila in 2012, while the last nine-inning no-no was by Daniel Franklin in a 3-0 win over Incarnate Word in 2003.
 
After winning Friday 12-1 and 22-1 on the strength of 11 home runs – three by Caleb Davidson – the Pioneers had a closer game Saturday, although the win was never in real jeopardy.
 
Following a scoreless first inning, the Pioneers put up one in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth before pushing across single runs in the fifth and eighth.
 
Eight different Pioneers scored Wayland's runs.
 
Of the Pioneers' 11 hits, Will Bass got three while Mumm, Gregg Veneklasen and Davidson posted two apiece. Mumm hit WBU's lone homer, while both of Veneklasen's hits were doubles.
 
Of the dominating weekend sweep, Bass couldn't have been more pleased.
 
"That's the way you draw it up. Anytime you get a sweep on the road in the SAC it's a big deal. We came out here to get something done and did what we needed to do. That was our goal for the weekend; anything short of that would have been disappointing."
 
Wayland, ranked the equivalent of 40^th in the NAIA, plays the first of three single games against rival Lubbock Christian (13-3) in non-conference play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wilder Field. After that they host Southwestern Christian (14-3, 2-1) in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Friday followed by a single game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Southwestern Christian hosted Texas Wesleyan (10-11, 1-2) this weekend, winning 4-2 and 5-3 and losing 4-3.
 
"We'll have our hands full this weekend," Bass said. "It's a long season and we have a lot of work to do yet."